


Silence

by mockingpanems



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Death, I'm Sorry, Other, Undeath, but dont worry it gets more wholesome i promise, chapter one is dark, idk what kind of sorcery bade me to write this but i had to, it was in my head and i had to bring it into the world, just bear with me lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mockingpanems/pseuds/mockingpanems
Relationships: Taelia Fordragon & Bolvar Fordragon, Taelia Fordragon/Anduin Wrynn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing Taelia saw was a picture.

In a small silver frame was a portrait of Stormwind’s royal family from years ago. A tall, muscular man with olive skin and brown hair stood beside a slightly shorter woman with fair skin and long, golden hair. In the woman’s arms was a baby boy with the same complexion as his mother. Oddly enough, the frame was sideways.

_Wait. Everything is._

The realization that she was laying in an unfamiliar bed shot through her like lightning. She bolted upright, gasping. The other side of the bed was empty, the white cotton sheets and pillow untouched. As the duvet and sheets fell from her torso, she noticed how cold the room was. The windows were frosted on both sides of the glass, and her breath was visible; an unexpected climate for the time, as the weather had started to become warm again. The stone walls surrounding her certainly weren’t helping with the temperature. Between the walls and the picture, she guessed she must be in Stormwind Keep. But why? How?

Bracing herself for the cold, she pulled off the rest of the blankets covering her legs. She looked around the room for anything belonging to her - clothes, her bag, her hammer - to no avail. Slowly, she opened the wooden door and stepped out into the hall. 

The silence worsened the cold. There were no signs of any guards, servants or kings to be found. “Hello?” She called, her voice echoing down the hall. No response. She made her way down the corridor, turning a corner.

A glint of golden armor caught her attention almost immediately. On the opposite end of the hall was a figure laying in the middle of the floor. Taelia called out to them, but the figure did not utter so much as a groan. As she went closer, she noticed the armor had blue detailing, and the person’s hair was long and blonde.

“Anduin!” She shouted, her voice laced with concern. She ran the rest of the way, kneeling beside him once she got to him. She shook his arm gently. “Anduin?” She tried several times. Nothing. He had been facing away from the direction she came from, so she rolled him onto his back. Her breath hitched.

His eyes were closed and his mouth was open. A trail of frost had grown out of his mouth and onto his right cheek, all the way up to his hairline. His skin was completely lifeless, almost grey.

Taelia felt sick, but she did not shout for help. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. Instead, she stood and finished her search for the stairs to the throne room, visibly shaken.

Even in such an important place as the throne room of the Alliance, there was not a single guard or servant to be seen. Disoriented, she did not hear the approaching footsteps initially. It was only when the sound of heavy boots made their way to the garden that she noticed.

Taelia felt a sense of dread wash over her even before she registered who it was. The clink of saronite armor was unmistakable, the pattern of flame across his chest a symbol of his dark rebirth.

“Father.”

“Taelia.” His voice was almost human. Whatever was inside that cursed helm added an artificial essence to the sound.

“Have you done this?” She asked.

The Lich King grumbled. “Azeroth is facing many threats against her. She needs an army, and I will provide her with one. The Alliance and Horde shall be united in death, and we will be unstoppable.”

Taelia was reeling. _How could father have done- no, not father._ She corrected herself. _Father would never._

“Taelia, my daughter. I sense a great potential in you. You are destined to lead. Join me. Serve me as Princess of the Scourge, and I will grant you immeasurable power.”

“Don’t you dare call me daughter, monster! I will never serve the Scourge!” Taelia shouted. 

The Lich King was silent for a moment. It was almost as if time itself stopped.

Suddenly, a shockwave ran through Taelia, and she slammed against the stone wall behind her. She cried out in pain as purple tendrils surrounded her, squeezing the air out of her lungs. The King of the Scourge held her there as she struggled to breathe.

He pressed harder into the wall. “Then I will make you serve.”


	2. Silence (Part 2)

She jolted awake, panting. Despite subconsciously knowing that she was breathing, Taelia still felt as though the air in her lungs was being squeezed out. She was startled. The dream had felt so real. _So possible._

Her current surroundings differed greatly from the location of her dream. She was aboard _Tiffin’s Melody_ , King Anduin’s personal ship, on her way to Northrend with a handful of Alliance officials. By themselves, they could have simply taken portals to Northrend, but the flagship would serve as a staging ground for the investigation of recent activity in Icecrown. If all hell broke loose, they could use the ship as a temporary base of operations away from the Scourge’s stronghold.

Her bed was tucked in a corner of the ship’s lower level. Everyone sort of had their own spaces; the beds were pretty spread out and some were separated by a wall. Even then, it wasn’t soundproof. She looked around and was relieved to see that she hadn’t woken anyone.

Her relief quickly vanished when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Taelia?” A voice whispered.

Dressed in a long-sleeve blue shirt and matching pajama pants, Anduin came into view. Contrary to her dream, his eyes sparkled with life and his cheeks were a rosy pink. _He’s alive! Thank the tides._

“Are you alright? I heard a scream.”

Still stunned from the horror of her dream, she stared wide-eyed for a second or two. Her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment, snapping her out of her trance. She ran a hand through her hair. “Uhh...yes, I’m fine. It was a nightmare. Sorry.” She whispered.

Anduin gave her a sympathetic look. “Don’t be sorry.” There was a pause. “I get them too.”

 _No doubt he does._ Taelia thought. _I can’t imagine what it would be like to shoulder the burden of a whole kingdom._

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.

Taelia hesitated before deciding that she didn’t want to talk. “No, that’s okay. Thanks, though.” Not knowing what else to say, she added, “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, you didn’t. I haven’t tried to sleep yet.” He offered a small but reassuring smile, sighing through his nose afterward. “My thoughts aren’t turning themselves off.” 

“I can relate to that.” She chuckled softly, only partially with humor.

Silence followed. The boat creaked in its movement against the waves.

“It’s a little weird having to whisper, don’t you think?” Anduin asked, briefly looking around the large room of sleeping Alliance champions.

“Yeah.” Taelia said, letting out a genuine giggle - a quiet one, of course.

“You know, I’m not really tired yet. If you don’t want to go back to sleep yet, we can talk in my quarters.” Anduin soon realized how his suggestion was sounding. “Just, you know, cause we can talk a bit louder in there. Nothing...weird.” 

Taelia grinned at his innocent awkwardness. “I know what you mean. Also, I’d like to.” Something came to her. “Do you think people would talk though? Since I’m a noble’s daughter and you’re an unmarried king.”

Anduin shrugged. “Maybe. Though I doubt we’ll have very many people awake enough to notice.” He glanced at the clock on the wall opposite from Taelia’s bed. Two in the morning.

Following another pause, Anduin felt himself retreating, fearing he had gone too far. “You don’t have to.”

Taelia swung her legs out of the bed. “No, let’s go.”

The ship wasn’t quite in Northrend, but it was getting close, and the chill of the northern air made her shiver as she stood. She made sure to grab the blanket from her bed before following Anduin up the stairs.

His room was large compared to the individual space the other passengers had, but it wasn’t too large or elaborate. A queen-sized bed with off-white sheets was in the middle of the room against the stern wall, with a dresser to the left and a desk to the right. A single nightstand was on the right side of the bed, holding a glass and metal lantern with a lit candle inside. A matching lantern rested on the desk.

Anduin climbed onto the right side of the bed, sitting up with his back against the headboard. Noticing that Taelia was awkwardly standing at the end of the bed, he patted the left side of it. “You can sit.” She accepted his offer, sliding into bed beside him.

Northrend surely wasn’t far, as the temperature seemed to be dropping by the minute. Anduin shuddered, running his hands up and down his arms in an effort to keep himself warm.

“Here.” Taelia said, partially unwrapping herself from the blanket to give a section of it to Anduin. 

He took the section of blanket, sighing in relief from the warmth and smiling at Taelia. “Thank you.” 

The blanket surely helped. Although it was thicker than the sheets on Anduin’s bed, it did not cover their entire bodies. With their legs exposed, Anduin shifted his weight to allow the bedsheets to be unmade underneath them, prompting Taelia to shift as well. With their whole bodies now protected from the cold, Anduin relaxed, leaning against the headboard.

Taelia had been staring down at and playing with her hands. Her expression gave hints of sadness, if it were not completely neutral. 

“Taelia?” He said.

“Hmm?” Her expression hardly changed.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about your dream?”

She trusted Anduin. He had been the one to tell her the truth about her father’s fate. While it was not an easy conversation by any means, it had connected them on a personal level faster than a typical friendship takes to develop. He had seen her in a vulnerable place before, and here she was in a vulnerable place again.

With a deep sigh, she decided to tell him what she had seen.

“My father came to Stormwind in my nightmare.”

She told him about how she had wandered through Stormwind Keep, with no guards in sight, eventually to confront her father in the throne room. She told him everything except for the fact that she saw him on the floor with grey, frozen skin. It was probably best for Anduin’s sake not to include that part.

There was a pause before Anduin spoke as he processed what she had told him. “That sounds...terrifying. I’m sorry, Taelia.”

Their eyes met, and Anduin could see that tears were welling up in Taelia’s eyes. He searched his thoughts for something, anything that could hope to comfort her.

“We don’t know what we’re going to find in Icecrown”, Anduin began. “But my guess is that if your father had any intentions to use the Lich King’s power against us, he would have done so by now. Don’t you think?”

Taelia nodded. “Probably.” She murmured. “Do you think Sylvanas has done anything to him?”

Anduin sighed, breaking his gaze away from Taelia. “I wish I knew. I assume we will know in a matter of hours.” 

Silence fell upon the pair until Anduin broke it. “I want you to know that you won’t be alone with this, Taelia. You have the support of at least the entire Alliance.” He knew he couldn’t speak for the Horde, and he prayed that his people would not find themselves in another situation like the Broken Shore. Neither side could afford it.

A small smile laced with subtle pain formed on Taelia’s face. “I appreciate you saying that.” There was a pause. “I just...I can’t imagine what father endured all alone, trapped by that terrible helm...” Her voice broke. 

Anduin nodded sympathetically. “I know.” He opened his arms to her. “Do you want a hug?”

With a nod, Taelia scooted closer to him and shifted her body so that her head could rest on his chest. Anduin wrapped his arms around her in a gentle yet firm hug. Taelia did not cry. Instead, she closed her eyes and allowed the comfort of Anduin’s Light to take hold. Or maybe it was just Anduin. It was hard to tell in the moment, but whatever it was, it was helpful.

Just as sleep was threatening to pull Taelia in, she caught herself. “I should probably go back to my bed, but it’s so warm here.”

Anduin chuckled softly. “Don’t worry about it. You can stay.”

She opened her eyes, tilting her head towards the boy-king’s head. “Are you sure?”

The feeling Taelia’s presence gave Anduin was hard for him to describe. All that he knew was that it was wonderful, and the last thing he wanted was to lose this feeling prematurely. “Positive.” He replied. “I enjoy your company.”

“I enjoy yours too.” Taelia said, and in that moment, a fraction of time seemed to stop. Perhaps a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes went by where the entirety of their conscience consisted only of each other.

Once time had resumed, she accepted his offer. Anduin pulled the blanket, which had since partly slipped off of their shoulders, back over them. In the process, they slid down slightly so that Anduin’s head would not be doomed to rest on the wooden headboard for the night.

The air around them was continuing to become cold, but they were kept warm by each other’s closeness. They talked quietly for a while, before the call of sleep was too loud to ignore. It could have just been coincidental, but they both slept soundly for the rest of the night.

In a way that could not be articulated, they both hoped it was not just a coincidence.


End file.
